Shoe and method of making the same



March 26, 1940. w P FIELD 2,194,788

SHOE ANIS METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Feb; 12, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1March 26, 1940. w. P; FIELD 2,194,788

Sm AND METHOD or- MAKING THE SAME Filed Feb 1 2, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Mar, 26, 1940 SHOE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Walter P.Field, Brockton, Mass. Application February 12, 1936, Serial No. 63,498

27 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of shoes, and more especiallyto an improved boot or shoe and to a process for making the same.

Heretofore, in the manufacture of what are 5 termed cemented shoes, thatis, shoes in which the outer sole is secured to the upper by cementalone and without the use of stitching, no practical method has beendevised for producing a shoe of the welt type. The manufacture of celmented shoes has been almost exclusively confined to the production ofwomens shoes and to those of a type in which the outer sole is ofleather and does not extend beyond the upper.

This has been due mainly to the difiiculties inherent in securing adurable and'wear-resisting bond between the upper and the outer solewhere cement alone is the adhesive agent.

So far as I am informed, the use of the cementing process has,heretofore, been confined to 20 the attachment of leather outensoles toshoe uppers and no practical method has been evolved for using, in a'cemented shoe, an outer sole of rubber -or similar composition. It isdimcult, if not impossible, to cement material like rubber 25composition to leather and to secure a firm and permanent bond betweenthe two, and the dimculty of accomplishing this end explains the lack onthe market of cemented shoes having composition soles.

30 The main object of my invention is the provision of a cemented shoehaving, both inside and outside, the appearance of a genuine Goodyearwelt shoe and having the durability and wearing qualities of a. shoe ofthat character, and the provision of a method for making the same.

Another principal object of my invention is the provision of a cementedshoe of the welt type, which may have either a leather outer sole or oneof rubber composition or similar material.

40 One of the specific objects of my inventionis the provision in acemented shoe of the welt type, of means for securing a permanent anddurable attachment of the outer sole to the shoe upper, including a.cement-carrying bonding mem- 45 her permanently attached-to the outersole, which may be cemented to the shoe upper and inner sole forinsuring a permanent and lasting adhesion between those parts of theshoe.

Another important object of the invention is the provision in a cementedshoe of the welt type, of a cement-carrying bonding member which may beused with an outer sole either of leather or rubber composition or ofsimilar material, to

" secure a permanent and durable bond between the shoe upper and theouter sole.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a shoe of the welttype with either a leather or a composition outer sole, which is simplein construction and which can be produced at an extremely low cost. 6

An additional object of the invention is the, provision of a simplemethod for making shoes of the foregoing description which eliminatesmany of the steps heretofore considered necessary in the making of weltshoes and which ma- 10 terially shortens the time consumed in theproduction of the shoes.

Other objects of the invention will be more particularly set forth anddescribed hereinafter.

My invention contemplates a cemented shoe and a method for making thesame, in which there is permanently attached to the outer sole,

a cement-carrying bonding member, adapted to 'be cemented to the shoeupper to produce a durable and wear-resisting bond between those twoparts. Preferably, this bonding member comprises a strip of suitablefabric, such as canves or duck, which is fastened to and made a part ofthe welt, the strip extending inwardly from the inner edge of the welt.The welt extends around the margin of the fore-part of the outer solefrom the heel seat in the usual manner and is permanentiy attached,either by cement or stitchingzto the outer sole, so that the outer sole,welt and bonding member are thereafterhandled as a unit in cementing theouter sole to the shoe upper.

' A fabric strip of this character constitutes an especially goodbonding member in a cementing process, because the construction of thefabric permits a cement applied thereto, such as pyroxylin, to penetratethe interstices between the threads of the fabric, so that when it iscemented to the roughened surfaces of the shoe upper, it constitutes amost eflective and eflicient bonding medium and produces a. durable and40 permanent adhesion between the outer sole and the upper.

In carrying out my invention, the fabric strip is attached along itsouter longitudinal edge to the welt and'the welt is fastened to theouter sole in any suitable manner, either by stitching or cementing,dependent upon the materials used for the welt and the sole. When boththe outer sole and the welt are of leather, these two parts may beattached by cementing and the fabric strip may be either cemented orstitched to the welt. However, if a rubber composition welt is used witha leather sole, stitching will have to be utilized for attaching thefabric, strip to the welt and for attaching the welt to the outer sole,be- 66 sion sole.

cause it is impossible to get, with the use of cement, anything morethan a temporary bond between fabric or leather on the one hand, andrubber composition on the other hand. In the case of a rubbercomposition sole having a welt of the same material, the two may beefliciently attached by the use of cement, but the fabric strip willhave to be stitched to the welt, or incorporated with the welt in thevulcanizing process when it is made in order to secure a permanent bondbetween the two.

In the preferred form of the invention however, and in order to preservethe appearance of a welt shoe, the welt it stitched to the outer.

sole adjacent its outer edge by the usual welt ock stitching and thisstitching may be relied upon for fastening the fabric strip to the welt.

Whatever materials are used for the welt and the outer sole, myinvention contemplates the permanent attachment of the bonding strip tothe welt, and the welt to the outer sole, by such meansas may beadequate to accomplish this end.

I have found that the use of such a bonding member as above describedfor cementing an outer sole to a shoe upper gives astonishing results sofar as the permanency and durability of the bond between those parts isconcerned. I am aware that certain types of shoes,'having close-trimmedleather soles, have heretofore been made by the cementing process, butthis has been largely confined to the manufacture of light shoes forwomen. My invention, however, not only can be applied to the manufactureof womens shoes of the foregoing type with im- Proved results, but itextends that process to the making of shoes of heavier constructionadapted for men and to shoes having an exten- In short, by the use of abonding. member in accordance with my invention, a cemented shoe of thewelt type, having either a leather or a composition outer sole andhaving the appearance and durability of high-priced shoes, can be madeat an extremely low cost.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is aside elevation of a mans :hoe constructed in accordance with myinvenion;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view on an enlarged scale of a lasted upper andinner sole; in which the upper is cemented to the inner sole withlasting tacks shown for holding the toe portion of the upper in placeduring the setting of the cement and with side stapling;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the lasted upper with the lasting tacks atthe toe removed and the surplus material trimmed off, with the edges ofthe upper ready to be roughened for receiving the cement;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the inner face of an outer sole having a weltattached thereto, the welt being shown as provided with an inwardlyextending bonding strip of fabric and secured to the welt at its outeredge;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view on line 5-5 in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig ure 5, of a modifiedform of outer sole and welt unit, in which the bonding strip is attachedto the welt by insertion within a channel formed in the welt;

Fig. '7 is a cross-sectional view through the vamp portion of apreferred form of shoe constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of a modified form of shoe, utilizing the outersole unit shown in Fig. 6;

Fig.9 is a plan view of a section of welting, provided with a.corrugated top face; and

Fig. 10 is an outer side elevation of the same.

In the drawings, my invention is shown as exemplified in a mans oxfordshoe of the welt type, but it is to be understood that this'is merelyfor the purpose of illustration and that the invention is alsoapplicable to the manufacture of women's and children's shoes, and,generally, to the manufacture of all kinds of footwear coming under thegeneric term "shoe". As shown, the shoe comprises an upper designatedgenerally as l0, an inner sole 12, an outer sole l4, and a heel IS. Theupper, which may be made in any suitable manner, is shown as comprisingouter parts consisting of a pair of quarters l8, a vamp 20, and a tip22, and inner parts include a lining 24, a box toe 26, and a heelcounter 28. The outer sole I4 is provided with a welt 30 fastenedthereto, and to the welt is attached a bonding strip 32 of any materialwhich is adapted for carrying a suitable adhesive for fastening theouter sole to the upper.

In the method of making a shoe according to my invention, the shoe upperis first prepared in the usual manner by assembling and fastening thevarious parts thereof in their proper relations, after which the innersole I2 is tacked to the last and the prepared shoe upper is fitted overthe last ready for the pulling-over operation. The upper is then lasted,and this may be done by any suitable McKay method of lasting, eitherfull cement lasting, step-by-step nail lasting, or staple lasting. Acombination of the cement and staple methods is preferred for thelasting operation, and, in carrying this out, the bottom edges and themargin of the outer face of the inner sole are coated with any suitablecement, and the edges of the upper are then pulled over and adhesivelyfastened to-the inner mit the cement to set, by pull-over tacks 38inserted in the toe portion of the last. The edges 0 of the upper aroundthe heel are preferably.

lasted by the use of permanent tacks 38, but these edges may be lastedby adhesive alone if desired. In Figure 2, there is shown a lasted upperin its condition at the conclusion of the lasting operation.

After the cement has thoroughly dried or set, the pull-over tacks 36 arewithdrawn and the surplus material of the upper, including the box toeand lining around the toe portion of thelast,

are trimmed off to provide a smooth, flat surface, as shown in Figure 3.The exposed edges of the outer leather parts of the shoe upper are thenscoured or roughened in preparation for application of the cement foraflixing the outer sole thereto.

Simultaneously with the preparation of the lasted upper, my methodincludes the preparation of an outer sole unit, comprising the outersole H, the welt 30', and a suitable bonding strip 32 for attaching, bythe use of cement, the outer sole unit to the shoe upper. In thepreparation of this unit, the outer sole is died out of suitablematerial to the exact form and dimension required by the last. 'Ihedied-out sole is then run through a splitting machine to a it and secureuniform thickness and a roughened inner face. The welt is then appliedaround the mar: gin of the forepart of the solefrom. the heel:

breast on one side to the heel. breast onqthe with a bonding strip 32attached along its outer edge to it, so that the welt andbondingstripmay be attached as a unit to the outer sole. Themain portion of thebonding stripextends inwardly from the inner edge of the welt and isfree for the greater portion of its width, so that a cement may beapplied to both sides of the strip. The free portion of. the stripshould be suflicient- 1y wide to insure a. permanent bond between thebonding strip and the shoe upperwhen the two are cemented together and Ihave found that a bonding strip with a free portion of approximatelyone-half to five-eighths of an inch will attain thisend. The bondingstrip may be. made of any material suitable for carrying an adhesive,but

preferably, a fabric such as duck or canvas makes the best bondingstrip, because its woven construction permits the adhesive to permeatethe strip, and, when set, to become anchored in and among the threads.The bonding strip may be made in strip form or it may be died out inhorse-shoe form.

The welt itself may be of various forms and the bonding strip may beattached to it in different ways, dependent somewhat upon the materialof which the welt is made. Preferably, the welt 30 is a narrow strip ofmaterial having parallel top and bottom faces with a beveled inner Thewelt may have its bottom face pro-r edge. vided with a shallow recessextending from its inner edge to adjacent its outer edge, as shown invFigure 5', or it may be channeled inwardly from its inner edge andparallel with its bottom face to a line adjacent its outer edge, asillustrated in Figure 6. In the first case, the outer edge of thebonding stripis inserted in the recess, and, in the latter case, it isinserted in the channel, and, in both cases, is fastened therein,preferably by the use of cement.

In attaching the welt carrying the bonding strip to the outer sole, Iprefer to use a single line of welt stitching 40, which is so located asto pass through the outer edge of the bonding strip and therebypermanently fasten together the welt, the bonding strip and the outersole. The stitching 40 may be either of the well-known lock or chainforms. When the lock stitching is used, it may be left exposed on theouter face of the outer sole, or it may be laid in a narrow channel cutin the outer face of the sole and covered by a turned-back portion; butin the case of chain stitching, it is preferably to form a channel inthe outer face of the sole for concealing it.

When the outer sole and the welt are both of leather, the stitching 40may, if desired, be omitted, because a permanent bond can be securedbetween the welt and bonding strip, and the welt and outer sole, by theuse of cement alone; but, when either the welt or the outer sole, orboth of them, are of rubber composition or similar material, thestitching 40 is required to permanently fasten these parts together. Inthe preparation of a welt of rubber composition or similar material, theuse of cement for fastening the bonding strip to the welt is sufficientfor insuring temporary fastening of the welt and bonding strip;together; but when the outersole welted unitis prepared, the stitchinm'isrequired fora permanent-bondbetween the.

parts. i

' when both the outer' sole and the weltare ofrubber composition, thebonding strip. may be permanently fastened-to the welt by being in-'corporated in it' during the-molding and vulcanizing process,-so thatitbecomes-an integral part of the welt, and, in such case, the weltandtheouter sole bein'gof similar material, they maybe permanentlyfastened. together by'the use of cement. With such a construction, thewelt stitching may be omitted if desired;

( After the. shoe upper and the outer welted sole unithave' beenprepared, the bottom; edges of the lasted upper fromtheheelbreastforward and the bonding strip are coated with any suitablecement, such as pyroxylin. Preferably, these parts are. given a firstcoating. of cement, the

bonding strip being coated on both sides, whichcoating is .allowed todry, after which either a tween the bonding strip and the shoe upperand,

to some extent, there is a bond between the lower surface of the bondingstrip and the. outer sole, the amount of this bond being somewhatdependent upon the material of which the outer sole is made. With aleather outer sole, the bond will be as complete and as firm as betweenthe bonding strip and the upper;' but with a composition sole, the bondbetween the strip and the outer. sole is of less permanence. Aftertheshoe is released from the pressure, the heel portion of the outersole is then nailed around the heel inthe usual manner, after which theheel may be applied thereto. The edges of the outer sole and without afiller; and in' Figure 8, with a filler.-

Any suitable filler may be used, such as a thin, firm felt filler, whichI have found gives the best results, and this filler is applied to theshoe upper after it is lasted and before the cement is applied toitsbottom edges.

Some of the important advantages of my invention are that iteliminates-many of the costly operations now involved in producingagenuine Goodyear welt shoe and simplifies the process to an amazingextent; that it eliminates the rough inside of the McKay made shoe,whether produced by lock stitching or other variations of the McKaysystem; and that it further eliminates the stiff midsole, which ischaracteristic of the McKay, welt and nailed shoes, and, consequently,results-in producing a more flexible and resilient shoe than anyproduced by either of the systems mentioned above. In short, myinvention permits the production of a shoe having the appear ance, bothinside and out, the durabiity and the same shoe.

wearing. qualities, and other advantages of highgrade Goodyear weltshoes at a production cost of cheap shoes.

. One of the advantages in using a welt of rubber composition, orsimilar moldable material, is that the exposed face of the welt may beprovided with transverse corrugations 44 more closely simulating theappearance of a Goodyear welt, as shown in Figure 9, which corrugationsmay be formed in the molding process and, therefore, are permanent andare-not affected by wear. The same indentations in a leather weltdisappear with the absorption of moisture by the leather, so that thewelt in time becomes comparatively smooth.

Another important advantage which flows from the use of my invention inshoes having rubber composition soles is that the soles may be made of acolor to harmonize with the color of the shoe upper. During the past fewyears, there has been a growing tendency in the shoe manufacturingindustry to produce shoes having uppers of all shades of color. Thistendency, which has heretofore been duly confined to women's shoes, isnow spreading to men's shoes, and it not only includes uppers ofdifferent colors, but also combinations of different colors in Attemptshave heretofore been made to carry out these color schemes in shoeshaving leather soles by painting the soles and welts, if provided withwelts, or by coating them with a veneer. This has not provedsatisfactory, however, because the paint or veneer soon wears off anddisappears. Rubber composition, howi ever, can be made in any color, andsoles and and welt is permanent.

welts of this material can be made to match 1 tional operations whichincrease the cost of the shoe.

Although I have described herein, as a part of my invention, theattachment of the welt to the outer sole by stitching or by cement, yetit may be accomplished by other means, such, for instance, as staplingthe welt to the outer sole by staples set in a channel formed in theouter surface of the sole and clenched invisibly in the welt. This formof construction may be found of advantage in very cheap shoes made inaccordance with my invention.

It is to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to theprecise forms herein shown and described, since it may be embodied invarious other forms, all within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A cemented shoe comprising an upper, an inner sole, an outer solehaving a welt fastened thereto and a bonding strip attached along itsouter edge to said welt and cemented to the bottom edges of said upperfor attaching said outer sole to said upper. I

2. A cemented shoe comprising an upper, an inner sole, an outer solehaving a welt permanently attached thereto and a. bonding strip offabric permanently attached along its outer edge to said welt andcemented to the bottom edges of said upper forattaching said outer solepermanently to said upper.

3. A cemented shoe comprising an upper, an inner sole, an outer sole, awelt attached to said outer sole and a bonding strip of fabricpermanently attached along its outer edge to the inner edge of said weltand cemented to the bottom edges of said upper for attaching said outersole permanently to said upper.

4. A cemented shoe comprising an inner sole, an upper having its bottomedges lasted inwardly over the lower surface of said insole, an outersole, a welt attached to said outer sole and a strip of fabric securedalong its outer edge to said welt and cemented to the bottom edges ofsaid upper for attaching said outer sole permanently to said upper.

5. A shoe comprising an inner sole, an upper having its bottom edgeslasted inwardly over the lower marginal surface of said insole andcemented thereto, an outer sole, a welt attached to said outer sole anda strip of fabric secured along its outer edge to said welt, the freeinner portion of said strip being cemented to the bottom edges of saidupper for attaching said outer sole permanently to said upper.

6. A shoe comprising an inner sole, an upper having its bottom edgeslasted inwardly over the lower marginal surface of said insole andattached thereto, an outer sole, a welt attached to said outer sole anda strip of fabric secured along its outer edge to said welt andextending inwardly, said strip being cemented to the bottom edges ofsaid upper for attaching said outer sole permanently to said upper.

7. A shoe comprising an inner sole, an upper having its bottom edgeslasted inwardly over the lower surface of said insole, an outer sole, awelt fastened to said outer sole by a line of lock stitching and abonding strip having its outer edge intermediate said welt and saidouter sole and fastened therein by said lock stitching, the innerlongitudinal portion of said strip being cemented to the bottom edges ofsaid upper and and said inner sole for attaching said outer solepermanently to said upper.

8. A shoe comprising an inner sole, an upper having its bottom edgesturned inwardly over the marginal outer surface of said insole andfastened thereto, an outer sole, a welt attached thereto, said welthaving its inner edge channeled parallel with its bottom face, and astrip of fabric having its outer edge inserted in said channel andsecured therein, the remaining inner portion of said strip beingcemented to the bottom edges of said upper and inner sole for fasteningsaid outer sole to said upper.

9. A shoe comprising an inner sole, an upper having its bottom edgesturned inwardly over the marginal outer surface of said insole andfastened thereto, an outer sole, a welt attached thereto and a strip offabric having its outer edge inserted between the inner edge of saidwelt and said outer sole and fastened therein, the remaining innerportion of said strip being cemented to the bottom edges of said upperand inner sole for fastening said outer sole to said upper.

10. A shoe comprising an inner sole, an upper having its bottom edgesturned inwardly over the marginal outer surface of said insole andfastened thereto, an outer sole, a welt attached thereto by a line oflock stitching, said welt having its inner edge channeled parallel withits bottom face, and a strip of fabric having its outer edge inserted insaid channel and secured therein by said line of lock stitching, theremaining inner portion of said strip being cemented to the bottom edgesof said upper and inner sole for fastening said outer sole to saidupper.

11. A shoe comprising an inner sole, an upper of lock stitching, theremaining inner portion of said strip being cemented to the bottom edgesof said upper and inner sole for fastening said outer sole to saidupper.

12. The herein described method for making a cemented shoe consisting inpreparing a lasted upper and an outer sole having a welt attachedthereto and a bondingv strip of cement carrying material attached alongits outer edge to said welt, then applying cement to the bottom edges ofsaid lasted upper and to said bonding strip and, finally, while saidcement is in a tacky condition, applying pressure to said outer sole tocement said bonding strip to said lasted upper to permanenently attachsaid sole thereto.

13. The herein described method for making a cemented shoe consisting inpreparing a lasted upper and an puter sole having a welt attachedthereto and a bonding strip of suitable cement carrying materialpermanently attached along its outer edge to said welt, then applyingcement to thebottom edges of said lasted upper and to said bonding stripand, finally, whilesaid cement is in a tacky condition, applyingpressure to said outer sole to cement said bonding strip to said lastedupper to permanently attach said sole thereto.

14. The herein described method for making a cemented shoe consisting inpreparing an upper having its bottom edges lasted over an inner sole andcemented thereto and an outer sole unit,

comprising an outer sole, a welt permanently atthereto, preparing anouter sole unit by fastening to an outer sole by a line of lockstitching a welt carrying an inwardly extending bonding strip,

said stitching passing through the outer edge ,of said bonding strip,then applying cement to the lasted edges of said upper and to bothsidesof said bonding strip, and, finally, while said cement is tacky,positioning said outer sole unit on said upper and applying pressure tosaid outer .sole to cementsaid bonding strip to the edges of said upperto cause said outer sole to become permanently aiiixed to said upper.

16. An outer sole unit comprising an outer sole having a welt attachedthereto and a bonding strip of fabric arranged within the welt on the ofrubber or other composition materiaha welt thereto.

of similar material cemented thereto and a bonding strip arranged on theinner face of said sole within said welt and having its outer edgeattached to said welt by a line of stitching, said strip being of amaterial suitable for carrying adhesive for cementing said bonding stripto a shoe upper to hold said sole aflixed thereto.

18. A method of preparing an outer sole unit for adhesive fastening to alasted upper consisting in providing a sole of suitable material of theexact form and dimension required by the last, then fastening by a lineof welt stitching to the inner face of said outer sole around themargin'of its forepart a welt provided with an inwardly projectingbonding strip of material adapted for carrying an adhesive, said weltbeing channeled inwardly from its inner edge parallel with its bottomface and said bonding strip having its outer edge inserted in saidchannel and secured therein by said line of welt stitching.

19. A method of preparing an outer sole unit for adhesive fastening to alasted upper consisting in providing a sole of suitable material of theexact form and dimension required by the last, then fastening by a lineof welt stitching to the inner face of said outer sole around the marginof its forepart a welt provided with an inwardly projecting bondingstrip of material adapted for carrying 'an' adhesive, said welt beingrecessed on its bottom face inwardly from its inner edge and saidbonding strip having its outer edge inserted in said recess and securedtherein adhesively attaching a fabric fastening strip and a welt,permanently stitching said welt and strip along the margin of anoutsole, applying adhesive between said fabric strip and the bottom ofsaid lasted upper, and pressing said outsole against said lasted upperto adhere said strip thereto.

22. A method of attaching an outsole to a lasted upper, which comprises,slitting a welt, attaching a fabric fastening strip in said slit andattaching said welt along the margin of the outsole, applying cementbetween said strip and the bottom of the lasted upper, and pressing saido1itsole against saidupper to adhere said strip 23. A method ofattaching an outsole to' a lasted upper, which comprises, slitting awelt, anchoring a fabric fastening strip in said slit, stitching saidwelt along the margin of the outsole, applying cement between said stripand the bottom of the lasted upper, and pressing said outsole againstsaid upper to adhere said strip thereto.

24. A method of attaching an outsole to a lasted upper, which comprises,slitting a welt, positioning the outer'margin of a fabric fasteningstrip in said -slit, stitching through said welt, strip and the marginof an outsole, applying adhesive between said strip and the bottom ofthe lasted upper, andpressing said outsole against said' upper toadehere said strip thereto.

25. A method of attaching an outsole to a last-' ed upper, whichcomprises, slitting a welt, attaching the outer margin ofa fabricfastening strip in said slit with temporary adhesive, sewing said weltalong the margin of an outsole with stitches passing through saidfastening strip margin, and cementing said strip to the bottom of thelasted upper.

26. A shoe bottom unit adapted for cement attachment to a lasted upper,comprising, an outsole, a welt extending along the margin of saidoutsole, a fabric fastening strip having its outer margin extendingbeyond the inner edge of said welt, and having its remaining portionextending inwardly over said outsole to provide an upwardly facingcementing surface, and a single row of stitching connecting said welt,strip and outsole.

27. An outer sole unit for a shoe comprising an outer sole member, awelt attached thereto and a bonding strip of fibrous material arrangedto extend inwardly of the welt and having its outer edge attached tosaid welt, said bonding strip having a cementing portion of substantialarea extended inwardly in proximity to the inner surface of the solemember to directly overlie the same when the unit is applied to anupper, the upper face of said strip being highly cementcompatiblewhereby cement applied thereover will directly engage and securely holdthe shoe upper imposed thereupon.

WALTER P. FIELD.

